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The David Bazirgan era is officially underway at the Fifth Floor. Today, Inside Scoop continues Taking the Fifth: a weekly miniseries of sorts that will explore, among other things, all the aspects that go into a new chef (Bazirgan) entering an existing restaurant — particularly a high-profile, hotel restaurant with a celebrated history.

At a restaurant like the Fifth Floor, the beverage program works hand in hand with the food program. Last week, Master Sommelier Emily Wines and bar guru Jacques Bezuidenhout (Master Mixologist for all Kimpton bars, lounges and dining rooms in the whole country) sat down for a three-course tasting from new chef David Bazirgan.

For Wines and Bezuidenhout, it was an opportunity to “meet” the flavor profiles favored by the restaurant’s new chef. It’s also a good excuse for Wines to revamp the wine list.

Prior to the tasting, Bazirgan sent Wines and Bezuidenhout dish descriptions, complete with the techniques and ingredients he used. Simply working off the flavors on the paper, Wines took some early blind stabs at the pairings, picking three possibilities for each course. As you’ll see below, it worked two of three times.

When picking pairings, Wines considers several things, ranging from the sources of acid (citrus? wine? sherry?) to the sauce bases (cream? oil?). She and Bazirgan have also had conversations about his cooking style — his affinity for Mediterranean flavors, for example.

But for Wines, pairings go beyond simple flavors, delving into the “weight” and “volume” of a dish. For example, while chili-spiked sashimi (see below) might be light and loud, fettucine alfredo might be heavy and quiet, chili con carne would be heavy and loud. Cool terminology, eh?

Meanwhile, on the cocktail side, things aren’t quite so straightforward, as Bezuidenhout admits he’s more of a fundamentalist when it comes to pairings, knowing that cocktails — or any drink, for that matter — shouldn’t be palate-destroyers. This means that it’s fundamentally more difficult to pair high-alcohol cocktails, so he leans more towards classic cocktails for pairings, leaving the spirit-forward ones for aperitifs.

But back to the tasting.

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Scallops.

First up was a scallop crudo, seasoned with four yuzu preparations: juice, dried zest, yuzu salt, and yuzu kosho, a Japanese condiment made from yuzu zest, chili and salt. The thinly-sliced scallops were plated with mandarins, radish, fennel, mint and a dressing of ice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and olive oil. Wines’ pairings were Austrian Gruner Veltliner, Dry Spanish Muscat, and an off dry German Riesling.

The first and third options proved best, with the intense citrus flavors remaining, while accentuating the seafood blasts. The second one was somewhat of a dud, as it proved to be too floral under the flavors. Given the big flavors, Bezuidenhout says this is a rare dish that could stand up to a cocktail like a martini.

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Red kuri squash soup.

Next was a red kuri squash soup, made with roasted (and then pureed) red-fleshed kuri and North African accents of ras al hanout. Then, it was garnished with cranberry gelee, chestnut foam, celery leaves and fried chestnuts. None of the whites Wines pre-selected — California Viognier, South African Rielsing Muscat blend, and an older Alsatian Pinot Gris — could stay with the strong, nutty flavors of the soup.

Then, in a very cinematic flourish, Wines and Bezuidenhout looked each other in the eye knowingly and exclaimed “Sherry!”

Off they went to the wine cellar, to return with two sherries — an Amontillado Sherry and a Rare Cream Sherry — though they ultimately decided that Madiera would ultimately be the best option (NB: Bezuidenhout put in a vote for a sherry cocktail).

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Squab with root vegetables.

For the finale, Bazirgan served a squab dish, finished off with a foie gras butter and chardonnay vinegar. It was accompanied on the plate with sauteed black trumpet mushrooms, a touch of sherry cream and garnished with root vegetables and black truffle.

The pairing options were California Pinot, Chinon (a Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley), and Douro Red, a dry Portuguese wine from the same region and grapes as port. Funny enough, when Bazirgan emerged to debrief on the beverage team’s findings, he immediately (and blindly) guessed that they chose a Pinot as the victor. However, as Wines explains in the video below, there was a surprise winner for the last course:

In the end, this tasting was just an initial step in nailing the pairings. They’ll continue to revisit the pairings and do more explorations, especially as Bazirgan finalizes dishes (there are only one or two of his dishes on the menu now) and develops new ones with the seasons.